Located on Western Coast, Kerala is one of the most densely populated states of India facing major traffic issues. According to a database, road traffic in Kerala is increasing every year at an average rate of 12-14 per cent.  One of the factors leading to the state’s increasing traffic congestion is the unavailability of parking facilities and lack of awareness among citizens.

Therefore, to manage the traffic volume and the vehicle density of this state, the state government introduced a few traffic and a no-parking fine in Kerala.

Any act that is in violation of the parking rules as laid down by the government will result in a fine for no-parking in Kerala. Following is a list of such acts punishable under the Motor Vehicles Act:

• People parking their vehicles in a no-parking zone
• Drivers wrongly parking their vehicle in a public space causing inconvenience or harm to others
• Individuals parking their vehicles illegally somewhere on the main road or footpath
• People parking a vehicle which has non-functional parking lights

Here is a list of no-parking rules in Kerala implemented by the Motor Vehicle Department in order to avoid unauthorised parking. All citizens should go through their state-specific rules carefully so that they can avoid being liable to pay hefty fines.

1. Do not park any vehicle within 5 metres of any stop sign, pedestrian crossings, sidewalks or traffic lights.
2. Avoid parking on main roads which have an assigned speed limit of 50 km/h or more.
3. Make sure not to park any vehicle within 50 metres of any intersection.
4. Ensure parking a vehicle is in accordance with any instructions given on any sign board, if any.
5. One must not park their vehicle on a bridge or any hill.
6. Do not park a vehicle obstructing other parked vehicles. Park on the opposite side of a vehicle maintaining a safe distance from one.
7. One shall not park their vehicle on the wrong side of the road.
8. Avoid parking on a road which has a high traffic volume.
9. Do not park a vehicle on a footpath or its edge as it is strictly prohibited.
10. Avoid abandoning a vehicle in parking lots for a longer duration of time.
11. Do not park a vehicle on an incline.
12. Restrict from parking in a public place for more than 10 hours.

Given that parking is a huge problem, the traffic authorities introduced some no-parking charges in Kerala so that people avoid illegal or wrong parking. Let's take a look at the different types of penalties imposed for violating the parking rules in Kerala.

• The penalty for parking in a no-parking zone is ₹500 on the first act and ₹1500 on repeating the offence.
• The wrong parking fine in Kerala is ₹500 for the first violation and ₹1000 for subsequent violations.
• The fine for parking a vehicle with non-functional lights is ₹100.

There are different ways of paying no-parking fines in the state:

On violations of the parking rule, offenders can pay a no-parking fine in Kerala through the e-challan portal from the official website of the Kerala Police Department.

One can also make online payments of their fines through the Parivahan portal.

The Motor Vehicle Department of Kerala introduced POS machines to facilitate the procedure of charging no-parking fines from the violators. The application of such machines has led offenders to make instant on-the-spot payments through their debit/credit cards.

As per the news, the Motor Vehicle Department made a record of collecting no-parking fines in Kerala worth ₹5 lakhs in just one day.

If any offender fails to make their payment of no-parking on time, a traffic police officer will visit his/her registered address to collect the fine. In case of a subsequent failure to pay the fine to the officer, his/her case will proceed to court.